Flushing valve



March 10,'1931. J. k, NoRTHRoP FLUSHING VALVE Filed Feb. 2o, 1928 kv ii /V VENTO? Jou/v Aalvouwwnop HIS HTTaP/YEK Pafenfsd Mar. 1o, 1931 JOHN EK. NORTEROP, OF'BRIENTWOOD HEIGHTS, CALIFORNIA FLUSHING VALVE' Applicati'onld February 20, 11928; Serial N0. 255,61-7.

My' Ainvention relates to manholer valves for use `in flushing sewer systems, and its broad?purposeisitoprovidea watertight valve4 which will permit. Walter tof/be stored in a,

.5 manhole Without Wastage, and Whieh 'will pemnit thefvvater thus-held to lbeaqnielrly and easily discharged to pnodliee the iusliing :aetion.

AAin .objectief myinvention Ais to provide a 1n valve reqniningwa minimum of serviceing,

Another object of my invention is toprof vide an eicient' valve h'awing fewl and inexpnsive parts;

y invention possesses iother objects and a.; valnabflezteaturemsomeof which Will beset forth the ollovvingldescription ot my invention which isillnstratedinthe drawings forming 'partei the specification: It is to be understood that I do not limit myself tothe .an showing made by the saidfdescript-ion and drawings, as vI Vmay -adoptivarying forms of my linvention with-in theis'cope of the claims.

Elushingiis usually aneomplishedl in sewerage'. systems either :by .self-dumping tanks,

25 typifiedfby that Ydescribed; in my co-pending application, 'Serial No. 25,918,.`1led1 April 25, 1.925501 by means 'ofaiushingqnanhole The latterfusual'ly comprises ra l.manhole of theJ ordinary type havingfanA outlet :near the ,bottom 30 leadingintoftheseWerandi covered by av flap valve., An inlet pipe of fairly largesize and provided with aimanuallyoperate'd cock admits Water to :the :manhole: An` yattendant visits the manhole periodically, 4first filling-it 35 with Water, '-then'opening the i'ap valve. 'by

attendants time is Vthereforerequired to tlthe manhole, emptying it. requiring about. thirty seconds.

My invention provides va: positive; acting watertight valve. Themanfhole may there- 59 torebe filled ffrom ai small supply pipe,.,oon trolled bythe ordinary typezof float valive which :closes When` the- Water has reached al predetermined level. This is 'precludedV in the nsualsystem-'beeaiise of the-enormous wastaigea 55 of Waterthrongh the leaky Hap valves; The attendant7s-duties with my valve are therefore merelytofopenlthe valveWhi-le the flushingtakes place., closev it again, andl continue. ony his'rounds. Aiotual' experience Ahas showny th at thennmber ofzattendant's :required Where my Valves, are. installed isv only one tenth thoseneeded-under'the older system.

Referring to the drawings:

l is a planzview, and Fig; 2 yis a een-4 65 tra'l vertical sectional' View of an :embodiment olfslmy invention as installed lin a manhole. The fn'll linesshow the valve closedan'd lche dotted lines in a `partly open position. 'liov conserveA space portions `of the manhole :are 70 cutaway in the dra-Wing.

Broadly considered', my valve comprisesa` mounting ring which is eeinentediover the endl-ofthe sewer pipe leading from the manhole. An annular'valve seat isforme'dionv the 75- endI othis ring. 'Loosely'hinged to the ring is a valve disk or gate which hangs'normall'y .as so 'to Cover the valve seat. The valve isA preferably provided with a slightly resilient gasket to aid in forming, a watertight olosare.

Allarm= extends outward-ly from near the center of the disk and ,pivotally .mountedwto the end ofthis-arln'isa Weightedlever.v The 85 short arm of the lever engages with -a fnlcruma-supportedlby the mounting ring. 'Ehe parts ,are-so proportioned that :the reaotionA of thev Weighted arm Vagainst the fulrumliffts the loosely mounted" gate from its hinge'pin an and forces it, with greatly augmented pressure, against the valve seat.

A chain attached to the end of the lever allows it to be raised, first disengaging the fulcrum, and then turning the valve on its hinge to permit the water to escape.

In terms of greater detail, a preferred embodiment of my invention comprises a mounting ring 6, preferably of cast iron, which is cemented to the end of the outlet pipe 7 of the manhole S. Formed on the end of this ring is a lip 9 which is machined true and which forms the valve seat,

On the upper side of the mounting ring is a pair of lugs 11 which are drilled to receive the hinge pin 12, preferably of brass or other rust-proof material. rl`he hinge pin passes loosely through slots 13 in the brackets 14, attached to the valve disk 1G, which therefore normally hangs in front of the valve seat. The valve disk is preferably fiat, and cemented or bolted to its surface is the rubber or composition gasket 17.

Extending outwardly from the valve. disk is the arm 1S to which the lever 19 is hinged by the pin 21. I prefer to make the arm double as shown in the drawing but it is obvious that al single arm could be employed. The long arm of the lever has a weight 22 adjacent its distal end, and an eye 23 is provided for attaching a chain 24 by which the valve is operated from the manhole opening. The short arm of the lever makes an obtuse angle with the long arm, and extends upwardly, carrying a transverse round rod 26 which bears against fulcra to seal the valve.

The fulcra are formed by the inturned ends 27 of the bars 2S. rIhe bars are secured to the mounting ring and their outer ends may be supported by the small masonry abutments 29. The ends of the bars are so turned that the fulcrum surfaces are not parallel with the plane of the valve seat, but are inclined thereto at an acute angle of the order of 20o.

IVhen the valve is closed, with the weight hanging freely, the round rod 26 rests against the fulcrum surfaces, and the couple acting on the short lever arm thru the rod and the hinge pin 21 forces the valve closed. The principal component of this couple is hori- Zontal, but due to the slant of the fulcra there is also a vertical component, which tends to lift the valve from the hinge pin 12, thus preventing any accident-al catching that might tend to hold the upper edge of the valve open and cause water wastage.

The action of the valve will now be apparent. lVhen the attendant lifts on the chain 24 the lever rotates about the pin 21, disengaging the rod 26 from the fulera and thus releasing the sealing pressure on the valve. The rod 26 strikes the arm 1S, which serves as a stop, and further traction on the chain rotates the valve disk on its hinge and liberates the impounded water. Relaxing the chain first allows the valve disk to drop into position in front of its seat, and then sea-ls it by the engagement of the lever with its fulcraas previously described.

The valve has been described and shown as mounted vertically. It is evident, however, that by using a straight lever instead of a bent one, a horizontal mounting would be equally satisfactory.

l claim:

1. In a iushing valve, a. valve seat, a rigid fulcrum adjacent the seat, a valve gate adapted to cover said seat, means for mounting said valve movably over said seat, and al weighted lever pivotally connected to said gate and adapted to engage the fulcrum to press said gate against said seat and to support a portion of the weight of said valve.

2. In a iiushing valve, a valve seat, a gate loosely hinged adjacent said seat and adapted to engage therewith, a fulcrum surface disposed at an acute angle to the plane of said seat, and a weighted lever pivotally mounted on said gate and adapted to engage said fulcrum surface.

3. In a flushing valve, a valve seat, a gate loosely hinged adjacent said seat and adapted to engage therewith, a fulcrum surface rigid with respect to said seat, and a weighted lever pivotally mounted on said gate and adapted to engage said surface.

4. A. flushing valve comprising-a mounting ring, a valve seat formed on said ring, a valve gate loosely hinged to said ring, an arm extending outwardly from said valve gate, a weighted lever pivotally mounted on said arm, an arm extending from said mounting ring and a fulcrum on said latter arm engaging said lever.

5. In a flushing valve, a valve seat, a movably mounted valve gate adapted to cover said seat, a fulcrum surface positioned in front of said seat, and a weighted lever pivotally connected to said gate and projecting outwardly therefrom and adapted to engage said fulcrum to press the gate against the seat.

t5. flushing valve comprising a valve seat, a valve gate adjacent said seat, a hinge for mounting the gate for outward movement :from the seat, a fulcrum adjacent the seat, and a lever connected to the gate and adapted to engage the fulcrum to press the gate against the seat and to lift a portion of the weight of the valve from the hinge.

7. A iiushing valve comprising a valve seat, a fulcrum mounted on the seat, a valve gate adjacent said seat, a. loose hinge for mounting the gate for outward movement from the seat and permitting alinement of said valve and seat, and a lever connected intermediate its ends to said gate and cooperating with the fulcrum to press the gate against the seat.

8. vA flushing valve comprising a mounting ring, a valve seat formed on the ring, a valve gate loosely hinged on the ring, a weighted lever pivotally connected to the gate, and a fulcrum on the ring against which the Weighted lever reacts to press the gate against the seat.

9. A ushing valve comprising a valve seat, a valve gate hinged to the seat, a Weighted lever fulcrumed upon said valve seat, and means connecting the lever to the gate to permit the Weight of the lever to exert a closingV force on the gate.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN K. ,NORTHROR 

